


Curiosity Venomized The Cat

by Lee_of_io



Series: Self-Indulgent Symbrock Fluff Fics [3]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Other, Pet Sitting, Venom has had it up to here with Mr. Belvedere's shit, but then Mr. Belvedere does his best to cockblock Eddie and Venom, cat based shenanigans, crimes against rats, things get a little spicy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-17 22:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lee_of_io/pseuds/Lee_of_io
Summary: Eddie is just trying to make the most of the situation (and maybe have a good time) and Venom honestly is feeling so attacked right now.OrEddie and Venom agree to pet-sit and Mr. Belvedere decides to play mind games with the two of them.





	Curiosity Venomized The Cat

It was an early evening in for the two of them. Eddie had submitted his articles to his editor ahead of schedule, thus affording them some well-deserved downtime. After completing a thorough, month-long investigation into allegations surrounding corrupt activities surrounding several local charities, he was more than ready for a break. Seeing the lengths some people would go to in order to scam people out of money while fraudulently championing a good cause really left a bitter taste in his mouth.

 

Venom also found the investigation repellent in many ways. Their preferred when Eddie’s work took the two of them into more high stakes situations (situations in which it sometimes became necessary to snack on a few heads when the thugs they faced got the mistaken impression that Eddie would have to be violently disposed of for all his snooping). Needless to say, this last case had a distinct lack of such excitement. For the most part, the two had worked surreptitiously through the means of paper trails, interviews with former employees, and good-old-fashion in person undercover investigation.

 

When all was said and done, Symbiote and host were really looking forward to a relaxing night in. Just Eddie, Venom, four extra-large meat-lovers pizzas with a side of potato wedges, and reruns of _Medical Mysteries_.

 

Eddie was just beginning to wonder about the source of his current nausea: 1) the way his body-mate worked through the boxes of pizza, voraciously massacring one after the other with little regard to the bits of ground sausage and cheese that would splatter lifelessly in their wake, or 2) the way the woman on the TV described in graphic detail how a rare deadly bacterial infection had caused her liver to nearly double in size, when his phone started ringing.

 

He blinked in mild surprise to see that it was Anne calling. He hastily muted the TV as he accepted the call.

 

“Anne, hey, I thought you guys were leaving tonight.” He tried to keep the statement from turning into a question.

 

 _“Ideally, that’s the plan still, but we’ve run into a slight complication.”_ And it was only through having known her for years that Eddie was able to pick up on the pinch of tension in her voice that was carefully concealed by a conversational tone.

 

 **Hi, Anne!** Venom boomed cordially at the phone, spitting a drop of red sauce onto Eddie’s cheek in the process.

 

_“Hello, V. I’m not interrupting anything important, am I?”_

 

“No, no, nothing important. What’s up? What can we do for you?”

 

 _“I’m sorry to have to ask this of you guys last minute, but would you be willing to watch Mr._ _Belvedere while Dan and I are out of town? Our regular house-sitter just called and informed us that she’s sick.”_

 

Another voice from what sounds like further away on Anne’s end of the phone also chimes in with, _“And unfortunately we can’t bring him with us as both my parents are allergic to cats.”_

 

 **Hi, Dan!** Luckily, this time the Symbiote’s enthusiastic greeting does not pepper Eddie with any food-based projectiles.

 

 _“Hi, Venom”_ , Dan cheerfully responds.

 

“So, not that I’m saying no or anything, but why can’t you just load his bowls up on food and water and let him take care of himself? I mean, cats are independent like that, they don’t need someone watching them throughout the day. Plus you guys are only set to be gone for three days, right?” Eddie had nothing personal against Mr. Belvedere; he was just as aloof as any other cat he had known.

 

No, it was just that he had no idea how Venom might respond to being around the cat for any great length of time. Eddie wouldn’t put it past the Symbiote to wait until their host’s back was turned to decide they wanted to try a little feline tartare.

 

**Rude!**

 

_“What’s that, V?”_

 

**Eddie implied that I would eat the cat!**

 

“I said no such thing!”

 

**But you were thinking it very loudly.**

 

 _“Look, guys, Dan and I were meant to leave an hour ago. Eddie, I trust Venom to exercise impulse control around my cat, so you should too. Now I really need an answer now. If that was your only objection then it’s a non-issue. If you can’t watch the cat, please tell me so that I can try to find someone else to do so before the end of the night.”_ Anne’s voice was dripping with enough exasperation that Eddie cringed.

 

Thankfully, Dan’s voice drops back into the call like a soothing balm. _“We, unfortunately, had to recently change up Mr. Belvedere’s diet to specific mealtime portions. That being said, we would really only need you to stop by in the morning and at night. If it’s easier on the two of you, you can sleepover here while we’re away. We would greatly appreciate this.”_

 

Well, staying over there would be easier than walking across town and back twice a day. Eddie half expected to feel some trepidation about occupying the same space that he and Anne once had, even if only for a few days, but upon objectively examining his current emotions, he found that he had no qualms about the prospect. If Venom was fine with it, so was he. It’s not like they had anything pressing going on the next couple of nights that they couldn’t help their friends out.

 

In an answer to Eddie’s mental question and Anne’s spoken one, Venom answers with an amiable, **we would not mind.**

 

“Yeah, ok. We’ll watch Mr. Belvedere for you.”

 

_“Thank you so much, guys. This is a huge help. We’ll leave the spare key in rhododendron planter next to the door. Instructions are on the counter, and Venom, please make sure Eddie actually follows the food portion measurements that are written there. I know he can be a little scatterbrained about such things but it really is important.”_

 

Venom snaps off an affirming, **yes, Anne** through a smug grin at the same time as Eddie lets out an affronted _hey!_

 

Anne’s _thank you!_ sounds more distant from the phone. Likely, she had jumped right back into resuming their procession out the door now that Eddie and Venom had agreed to house-sit.

 

 _“Feel free to help yourselves to any of the food around here”_ , Dan’s voice continues where Anne left off. _“I don’t know how much you both normal need to eat per day, but there’s a lot of stuff in the fridge, freezer, and pantry available. I’ll also be sure to put some fresh sheets on the guest bed for the two of you.”_

 

“It’s no problem, Dan. I can find that stuff and set it all up. Don’t trouble yourself.” Eddie was pretty sure the layout of where Anne kept the linens hadn’t changed.

 

_“If you’re sure. Oh, and before I forget, Venom, my mom makes the best homemade fudge. She makes it every time I come up to see her, but I really shouldn’t be eating that many sweets. I’ll see what I can do to sneak it back home with us for you.”_

 

**Dan, you are a shining example of humanity.**

 

“Yeah, you’re a real saint”, Eddie retorts with a barely hidden snort of amusement at the Symbiote’s newfound starry-eyed enthusiasm.

 

_“Thanks again, guys. If you have any questions or need anything, just call.”_

 

“No problem. Mr. Belvedere knows me, I know him. I doubt there will be any problems.”

* * *

 

Not trusting the rhododendrons to guard the house key for any great length of time, Eddie packs a small overnight bag and they make way across town to Anne and Dan’s place. It’s a chilly mid-winter night so Eddie is more than eager to take up Venom’s offer of an extra bit of extraterrestrial insulation as they form around him in the imitation of a thick coat. Venom had taken to mimicking various articles of clothing and accessories lately, much to the pair’s combined amusement. Eddie at first had half-joked that it was the Symbiote’s way of feeling him up while they were out in public (something that Venom mischievously demonstrated that they could do regardless), but it was a nice sensation to feel his other embracing him while they went about their daily lives.

 

While he consciously knew that he was never truly alone, being able to feel his other tucked around him always severed as a secure and constant reminder of their presence.  

 

Before long, they made it to a familiar building front in a quiet neighborhood. Fishing the spare key out of the flowers they make their way into the build, out of the frosty chill.

 

Upon entering Anne and Dan’s place, by the dim illumination of the streetlights outside, Eddie is immediately confronted by a pair of tapetum lucidum eyes glowing out from the darkness of the entryway.

 

 _“Fucking_ hell!”

 

He lunges for the light switch and just makes out the retreating furry form of his feline ward racing just out of sight.

 

**You are embarrassing us in front of the cat, Eddie.**

 

“Considering I almost had a heart attack just now, I don’t particularly care about the cat’s judgment. The little shit knows better than to sneak up on me like that.”

 

Eddie and Venom had been invited over to Anne and Dan’s place a number of times, and even before then, Eddie had live in the building with Anne himself for a few months during their brief engagement, so the space was familiar and welcoming, if just a tiny bit tinged with a bittersweet nostalgia. It was a place that had been home to Eddie once, but now it carried the sanitized aspect of an environment shaped ever so slightly uncanny.

 

He pushed himself to move around the place, flicking on lights, raiding the linen closet, and making his way to the spare bedroom to drop off his bag and make the bed. With Venom’s help, the sheets were fitted and secured across the mattress in short order. The Symbiote’s satisfaction as Eddie flopped down on the plush bedding was infectious. They didn’t have such a nice bed as this back at their place.

 

 **We will need to do a thorough examination of this bed’s many qualities.** Their growled voice is thick with innuendo.

 

How his alien other had so quickly picked up on the art of double entendres while still finding many other aspects of human society so very, well, _alien_ , bemused Eddie.

 

“Perhaps later, love. For now, we have to go deal with the cat.”

 

With reluctance, they abandon the plush bed and make their way to the kitchen, spying the note of instructions left out on the counter for them. Mr. Belvedere’s morning and night meals apparently consisted of an intricate measurement of three different cat foods and a feline multivitamin. All necessary measuring cups were helpfully stacked on the counter along with said vitamins. When had the cat become so complicated?

 

“Well, this is a pain”, Eddie says before leaning down and retrieving the cat’s food dish from the corner of the kitchen.

 

As he straightens back up, he finds himself practically nose to nose with Mr. Belvedere. The cat had all but materialized out of thin air at the promise of dinner. Eddie only just stopped himself from full body flinching.

 

“V, I think this cat is out to get me”, Eddie whispers in a conspiratorial aside to his other while slowly positioning the food bowl on the countertop.

 

 **He does exercise a certain skill in the art of psychological warfare.** Venom muses aloud. **Don’t let him get to you, Eddie. We are to apex predator here, and we will show him how it’s done.**

 

At this point, Venom has emerged from just over Eddie’s shoulder and sizes up the feline before them. While Symbiote and cat hadn’t necessarily every gone out of their way to avoid one another, indeed Venom was encouraged within the Weying- Lewis household to relax and socialize with their friends as much as with their host. So Mr. Belvedere was no stranger to the inky-black amorphous being, if only through furtive glances across rooms at the sound of Venom’s distinct reverberating voice. Though, the two had never directly confronted one another until this moment.

 

Apparently, Eddie needn’t have worried about any tension between the two as Mr. Belvedere seemed unimpressed and dismissed Venom presently in favor of returning his undivided attention the food bowl.

 

Eddie could feel the underlying offense radiating through his other at being snubbed. “If it makes you feel any better, love, cats kinda treat everyone that way”, he assured them.

 

Indeed, the only thing concerning Mr. Belvedere was the immediacy of his dinner, to the point where Eddie had to actively hold the cat up and away from the food bowl (as the cat had already made several attempts to leverage the whole of his upper body into one of the dry food bags) as Venom measured out and combined the ingredients.

 

They watched the feline decimate the finished presentation minutes after the bowl is set back in its place beside the water dish.

 

“This new diet they have him on much be pretty stringent. I don’t remember him ever being this food motivated before.”

 

**Perhaps you are the one who overfed the cat and necessitated the diet.**

 

“I can think of someone else I overfeed around here.”

 

**…We misspoke. You are an excellent provide.**

 

Eddie snorts in amusement at the Symbiote’s backpedaling before cleaning up the counter of any spilled food remnants.

 

He decides to call it an early night and Venom is only too willing to return to the plush guest bed awaiting them.

* * *

 

The next morning they wake early and reenact the juggling exercise that is keeping Mr. Belvedere from spilling dry food and multivitamins all over the kitchen floor. The instructions also present them with a bonus challenge of adding a spoonful of wet food to the mix. The sound of the can being opened frenzies the struggling cat with its tantalizing implications to the point that Eddie is rewarded with claw marks all up and down his arms. And to add insult to injury, upon inhaling his breakfast, Mr. Belvedere has the nerve to assume a casual demeanor, sparing human and Symbiote a half-glance before sauntering away.

 

“Thanks, babe”, Eddie mumbles softly as the sting of scratches recedes, returning his inked forearms to a state of health.

 

Deciding to take advantage of the proffered kitchen full of food before them, they work together to whip up a platter of (chocolate chip) pancakes for breakfast. Eddie had a short meeting he had to catch with his editor in a few hours and decides to request an Uber before their finished with the dishes. A quick shower and a change of clothes later (of which today Venom decided to play the role of a fashionably understated bracelet, blending in seamlessly with Eddie’s others) and they were ready for the day.

 

Out of a sense of house-sitter obligation, Eddie wonders around until he is able to locate and check in on his feline charge. Mr. Belvedere blinks up at him with a concentrated expression of boredom from the windowsill he has taken up residence.

 

Eddie gives the cat small wave before declaring out loud, for no particular reason, that ‘they were going out’, that ‘they would be back that night’, and finally warning that the cat ‘shouldn’t get up to too much fun’ while they were gone.

 

Evidently, Mr. Belvedere wasn’t sufficiently motivated to heed that last bit of advice because the first thing the greets Eddie and Venom as they come in the door that night is the sight of a decent sized rat limply dangling from the feline’s mouth.

 

Eddie fairly desensitized to the prospect of vermin occasionally spotted around his own apartment complex, the thought of rats invading Anne’s picture-perfect space seems downright absurd and not at all welcome while on his watch.

 

“Hey buddy”, he tries to slowly edge toward the cat, willing him not to run away before the rat can be seized and disposed of. “Where did you get that?”

 

The cat turns and begins to briskly trot away.

 

“Hey, _hey_ , get back here you stupid cat! If Anne finds out we found a rat somewhere in this place, well, she’ll probably blame it on _me_!”

 

This doesn’t seem to be sufficient reasoning to Mr. Belvedere as he sprints into the depths of the house at Eddie’s increasingly raised voice.

 

With Venom’s help, Eddie is able to track down the delinquent cat, hiding in a back corner under the kitchen table, rat still clutched possessively in his jaws.

 

“Come here you little— _oww_ shit!”

 

In reaching under the table to try and grab the scruff of the cat’s neck, Mr. Belvedere retaliated with a low throated growl and a swipe of the claws across the back of Eddie’s wandering hand.

 

**He is protecting his kill.**

 

“Yeah, no shit. Could you lend a hand, V?”

 

Venom decides to take this cue to be literal as a portion of their black form wraps tight around Eddie’s hand and forearm akin to a rubber glove. This time, when he reaches out and successfully secures the cat in his grasp, Venom offers an extra layer of protection against the claw-based counter attack.

 

Admitting defeat, Mr. Belvedere quickly drops the rat to let out a placating _mew_ of feigned innocence. Before the rat can hit the ground, Venom’s jaw snaps it up with the precision of a viper.

 

“Gross.”

 

**What? You were going to throw it away. A waste of perfectly good meat.**

 

“I let you kiss me with that mouth.”

 

**You don’t complain when we kiss after eating bad guys.**

 

Despite his efforts, Eddie can’t seem to find a retort to this logic. Perhaps his priorities had become irrevocably skewed from living in the same body as a man-eating alien.

 

Regardless, who knew what diseases that thing was carrying.

 

“We’re going to brush your teeth tonight.”

 

**That would be a pointless effort. Your Earth-based bacterium cannot affect us. They would find this mouth an inhospitable death trap.**

 

“Good to know, I guess.” He sighs deeply while staring at the cat, now perched at the edge of the table, staring bemusedly back at him. “I have to at least try to find out where that rat came from.”

 

 **We will show this tiny predator what a true hunter looks like.** If Venom was hoping to inspire unease in Mr. Belvedere with the toothy leer they leveled at him, they were sorely disappointed.

The cat blinks apathetically back at them, revealing nothing.

 

With no help forthcoming from Mr. Belvedere, Eddie and Venom begin a moderately extensive sweep of the house. Venom’s extra allotment of strength affords them the ability to move bookshelves, beds, appliances, and anything else the two of them can think to check around or behind in their efforts to discover some clue as to how the rat had got in. After close to two hours, they call the search off, deciding that the tiny intruder must have been a fluke.

 

Eddie flung himself down on the living room couch, arching his back to try and ease several popping joints out of stiffness, before flinging an arm over his face and letting out a weary sigh.

 

“How about we just order in some Chinese food tonight, V? I really don’t feel like cooking anything”, he says with a voice muffled from beneath his bend arm.

 

His other is silent in response, but Eddie can feel that the Symbiote’s focus has been caught by something.

 

“Venom?”

 

**_Silence, Eddie._ **

 

They are on the hunt, Eddie can feel it. Peeking from beneath his arm, Eddie sees a sinuous black tendril connecting from his body leaning over the side of the couch.

 

 _What do you see, V?_ He projects the mental inquiry to the Symbiote with a certain amount of apprehension.

 

**_There is another rat._ **

 

 _Where? Under the couch?_ Eddie makes to get up but the movement is aborted as Venom exerts their will over his muscles, keeping him flat on his back.

 

**_If you move, it will run._ **

 

_Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Get the damn thing!_

 

There is a surge of movement that shudders the frame of the couch. Eddie expects to hear an anguish _squeak_ , but there are no sounds of struggle. Perhaps the Symbiote was feeling merciful and just swallowed the thing whole (hopefully without the need to leave any unpleasant evidence behind).

 

**_Umm…don’t think that was a rat._ **

 

Eddie lurches upright and crowds down onto the floor, trying to peer under the bulk of the furniture to see what could cause a flood of embarrassment to flow through their bond before Venom could suppress the emotion.

 

“V, you have to come out from under the couch. Whatever it is, it’s probably not all that bad.”

 

A couple of strained moments elapse before a tiny, **_promise you won’t laugh_** , is sent back to him.

 

“I promise, V.”

 

And, to Eddie’s credit, he doesn’t laugh so much as he makes an inhuman squawk as Venom slides out from under the couch with a small stuffed mouse clenched tenderly between their teeth. The cartoony make of the cloth critter denotes it as a cat toy, and spilling from between where the Symbiote’s teeth had punctured its fluffy hide is a sprinkling of green flakes.

 

**_Smells funny._ **

 

“I should think so, you’ve got catnip all over you.” He is trying, weakly to suppress the urge to burst out laughing. The miserable downturn of the Symbiote’s crescent eyes tells him that he’s doing a piss-poor job of the endeavor.

 

**_Don’t like it, Eddie._ **

 

“Ok, ok, let’s get you over to the trashcan, don’t let go of the thing yet, we’ll get you over to the trashcan and then you can drop it in, ok? I know this sucks, but try to keep as much of it from spilling onto the floor as you can.”

 

Venom mentally grumbles to him in indignation while clutching the toy tight between their teeth. As promised, once the trashcan lid was proper open, they were able to let the remains of their failed hunt drop harmlessly into the receptacle, a shower of green plant flakes follows downward. Next, Eddie takes Venom over to the sink. Using the sinks detachable faucet made short work of gently rinsing the rest of the offending herbs off Venom’s mass. After that, it was a simple matter of wetting a paper towel and wiping off any leftover mess on the floor.

 

Even clean and no worse for wear (sans a bruised ego), Venom still smelled faintly of the minty aroma of the catnip. This was puzzling to both of them given that scent was not typically an attribute associated with the Symbiote, save perhaps when covered in blood or chocolate (or the few times it was blood _and_ chocolate). Eddie wasn’t too concerned though; he’d just make sure their shower routine was extra meticulous tonight.

 

With that little bit of drama done, he decided that, yes, they would be ordering in tonight.

 

“Man, I kinda wish I’d gotten a picture though.”

 

**Your phone would not have survived the night.**

 

“Sheesh! Ok, fine Oscar the Grouch, no photographic evidence. Can’t have San Francisco’s underworld finding out that the scourge of their existence was defeated by a two dollar cat toy.”

 

**Stop it, Eddie! No more talking about it!**

 

“Shit, ok. I see I’ve hit a nerve.”

 

**We will hit a couple of nerves if you continue.**

 

“I promise then. No more.”

 

Eddie suspected that this ran deeper than the regular brand of good-natured ribbing the pair usually engaged in. For whatever reason, Venom seems truly upset, or at the least embarrassed, about the whole process of events. It didn’t really make sense. The Symbiote was naturally inquisitive about many different aspects of life on Earth, and often, as a result of their keen exploratory nature, that meant the two of them would get covered in dirt, sand, water (ocean, pool, fountain, etc.), paint, blood, trash, plaster, and a vast variety of food products on a semi-regular basis.

 

Truthfully, Venom’s clothes mimicking act had sprung from this very necessity, as a number of Eddie shirts and jeans would end-up ruined after the Symbiote decided (before Eddie could object) that dumpsters were perfectly legitimate places to hold stakeouts.

 

So for the alien to be in such a funk over a little spilled catnip didn’t sit right with Eddie. There was more going on that he would have to keep an eye out for.

 

So naturally, Eddie worked to take Venom’s mind off the whole thing my instigating some other small bit of bickering. The Symbiote seemed to brighten a little at this and quickly joined in the friendly back and forth all through the process of feeding Mr. Belvedere and up until their food arrived.

 

Eddie gives the delivery guy at the door a generous tip after seemingly arguing with himself over the dinner selection. The hapless employee was even gracious enough to help Eddie unload the comically large food order (for presumably just one man) onto the kitchen counter, despite the nervous glances constantly being shot his way.

 

They pile up two heaping plates of food before making their way back to the living room to relax in front of the TV. Anne and Dan’s set up in much nicer than their own back at the apartment and they enjoy a couple of episodes of some cooking show and companionably making commentary through mouthfuls of food.

 

After their finished, Eddie turns the volume down low on the TV and reclines back on the couch. Venom joins him presently, spreading out across his chest like a puddle of melting ice cream. Little, barely-there slivers of white denote the Symbiote’s contented eyes.

 

However, the moment doesn’t last long as Mr. Belvedere leaps up on to the edge of the couch and decides to come and investigate Venom’s new fragrance. The once semi-melted puddle of goo on his chest firms up with an undercurrent of tension as the inquisitive feline gradually makes his way up Eddie’s abdomen, being led by a twitching nose.

 

**_Eddie._ **

 

“It’s fine, love. He’s just curious.”

 

**_Don’t humans have an idiom about curious felines?_ **

 

“Aww, but V, you wouldn’t hurt that cute little face, now would you?”

 

At this point, Venom’s gooey mass was practically paper thin in an effort to evade Mr. Belvedere’s sniffing nose. Why the Symbiote didn’t just reabsorb back into Eddie’s body, he’d never know. Perhaps it was a matter of pride.

 

Either way, it wasn’t long before the cat decided that Venom smell just like his drug of choice and promptly situated himself right down on top of the anxious puddle of goo.

 

**_Eddieeeeeeeee!_ **

 

The distressed Symbiote retreated further up Eddie’s chest, up to his clavicle, in an attempt to gain distance from the feline terror.

 

“Oh, this is precious”, he giggled with little remorse.

 

**_Why is he doing this, Eddie?_ **

 

“Probably ‘cause you’re laced with catnip still. They love the stuff. They get all high and loopy on it.”

 

**_Do something, Eddie. This is just demeaning._ **

 

“I think you’ll live just fine. He’ll calm down in about fifteen minutes or so. Of course, you could always just go back inside for the time being.”

 

Eddie’s pretty sure he hears some grumbling along the lines of **_shouldn’t have to give up the best seat in the house to the stupid cat_** before all is peaceful again, other than the obnoxiously loud purrs reverberating through his sternum from the happy cat reclining there.

 

After a while, Venom seems to grudgingly accept that they must share Eddie’s torso with the cat and gradually spreads back out again, reclaiming much of the territory they had retreated from.

 

Absently checking through his emails on his phone one-handed, Eddie is distantly aware of a slight shifting of weight on his chest.

 

**_Eddie. Eddie, what is he doing?_ **

 

Eddie turns his head to see Mr. Belvedere purring up a storm, like a motorboat on high gear, while reaching out and softly kneading Venom like a mass of dough. The only just recently relaxed Symbiote is now rigid with stress.

 

“Umm”, was all he could dimly add.

 

Mr. Belvedere was an aloof cat at the best of times, never really taking an interest in anyone other than Anne, that is, unless food was made apart of the equation. This was certainly the most Eddie had ever seen the cat purr consecutively. The laying on top of him he figured was all about how good the Symbiote probably smelled right now. The kneading though, that was just bizarre. In the years that Eddie had gotten to know and co-own the cat, Mr. Belvedere had never felt the urge to show such affection to anyone.

 

“Looks like he’s tenderizing you. Maybe he’s still hungry.”

 

**Eddie, that’s not funny.**

 

Evidently, Venom had reached the end of their tolerance as they growled that last statement aloud.

 

This seems to pique Mr. Belvedere’s interest, and before Eddie can respond, host and Symbiote both watch in what feels like slow motion, with a mix of curiosity and horror, as the cat leans in, sniffs at Venom’s toothy visage, and decides to administer a tiny kitten lick right between their pearlescent eyes.

 

In the shocked silence that follows, Eddie could resist adding, “He’s checking to see if you’re ready to be eaten.”

 

With the kinetic energy of a released rubber band, Venom shot back into his body in the blink of an eye. Mr. Belvedere, either affronted or startled by this action, finally jumped down off of Eddie, but not before sinking a few retaliatory claws into his chest on the dismount.

 

Eddie didn’t even care. He was too busy trying not to vomit his dinner up from uproarious laughter. He accidentally fell off the couch and landed hard on his butt on the flood, but couldn’t stop shaking from mirth for at least a good couple of minutes.

 

Eventually, he did find it in himself to feel a little bad about giving Venom such a hard time that night. The poor Symbiote wasn’t used to confronting an obstacle to couldn’t be killed (preferably by eating it) or reasoned with.

 

All through the process of cleaning up their dinner mess, Venom stayed sulkily somewhere approximately within Eddie’s chest cavity (if the slight pressure on his lungs was any indication). He was able to coax his other out while in the shower; if for no other reason than the make sure any surviving catnip scent is completely eliminated through the power of the many fine soaps the guest bathroom is stocked with.

 

In the end, as they crawl into bed for the night, Venom does accept Eddie’s profuse apologies. Judging by the gentle sarcasm in their tone, Eddie safely assured that Venom has taken the whole night in good humor.

 

**You can make it up to us tomorrow.**

 

And the delicious way that proposition is rumbled in his ear, followed by a generous swipe of the tongue, leaves little to the imagination for what the Symbiote has in mind.

* * *

Venom’s feeling toward the cat had not improved the following morning. And indeed, if Mr. Belvedere’s smug purring as he nuzzles the underside of Eddie’s chin during said feline’s breakfast preparations is anything to go by, the cat knew it too.

 

Eddie can’t completely suppress a flinch as the Symbiote slams the spoonful of wet food down into the bowl with more force than necessary, sending some flying. A small bit of the food lands unpleasantly on Eddie’s cheek and Mr. Belvedere takes to opportunity to lick it off for him.

 

This only seems to sour his other’s mood further.

 

Eddie made the executive decision that they would be enjoying their own breakfast somewhere else that morning. Venom seemed far too close to snapping and Eddie didn’t want to have to make an awkward call to Anne explaining why her cat had gone missing.

 

Thus, they agreed upon a brisk walk back to their apartment for a quick change of clothes and for Eddie to grab his laptop before making their way to one of their favorite little _cafes. They had a pleasant meal of two breakfast sandwiches and coffee, followed up with two slices of fresh chocolate cake (at this point, the staff knew better than to question Eddie about his desire for chocolate cake at 9:30 am), all completely feline free._

_Afterward, they go to the library and Eddie works for a couple of hours, making sure to set up his laptop in a far corner of the building where the no one was likely to wander into them and see a small inky tendril sprouting from Eddie’s side leisurely flipping through books. Venom had a particular interest in encyclopedias, especially those with photographs and illustrations incorporated. It often helped to feed some of the Symbiote’s insatiable desire to learn more about Earth and human society, especially when Venom would come across a concept that Eddie couldn’t articulate effectively. The Internet was also a huge help in this department, but with a vast expanse of human knowledge that was stored there, it was sometimes a little difficult to decide on a place to begin. Encyclopedias at least offered a convenient alphabetical starting place. As of this particular visit to the library, Venom was now on volume ‘J’._

_**Hmm, the Jurassic period. Don’t we have a documentary movie about that topic at home?** _

_You mean Jurassic Park? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I have the DVD back at the apartment, somewhere. But it’s not a documentary, V._

_**Can we watch it?** _

_Sure thing, love. Let me get to a good stopping point and we’ll go do that. You’ll like it; quite a few people get eaten._

And indeed, Venom does enjoy the movie. All during the scene where the raptors are loose, the Symbiote lines little Hershey’s Kisses up in a row along the coffee table and uses them to violently reenact the gruesome demise of several of the characters onscreen. Eddie surreptitiously records the whole thing on his phone to show Anne and Dan later.

 

All in all, they’d had a pretty good day, gotten some work done, and had plenty of time to unwind and forget about the tension of last night.

 

Venom doesn’t even seem all the put off when they arrive back at Anne and Dan’s place and Mr. Belvedere noisily greets them with pleads for food. The cat taken care of, Eddie and Venom pull out all the stops and really take advantage of the well-stocked kitchen before them and resolve to make something special for dinner.

 

They find some leftover chicken in the fridge that still smells fresh and flip through one of Dan’s cookbooks before both agreeing that fajitas sounded good. While Eddie seasoned the chicken and heated it in a skillet over the stove, Venom chopped up bell peppers and onions to be added in. The end result isn’t half bad, though Venom does decide to forgo using tortillas and instead elects to eat straight from the skillet.

 

After washing the dishes they collect some chocolate ice cream from the freezer (from the stash Anne and Dan always generously kept supplied for when the pair visited) and make their way back to the couch. This time the TV is ignored in favor of beginning a heated make out session between spoonfuls of dessert.  

 

Pretty soon the empty ice cream carton is discarded on the coffee table and Venom and Eddie are stretched out on the couch cushions, completely absorbed in one another. That is, until they’re in the middle of practically deep throating Eddie with Venom’s tongue, when the Symbiote withdraws and freezes.

 

In a daze, Eddie reaches up and curls his fingers against Venom’s jaw before asking, “Hey, what’s up? Why did you stop?”

 

The Symbiote’s attention captured by something off to Eddie’s left, so Eddie turns his head to see what could be bothering them.

 

**He’s watching us.**

 

Mr. Belvedere is perched on the coffee table with a front row seat and a face full of feline judgment, a silent spectator to the progression of their debauchery.

 

“It’s fine, babe. As long as he’s not interrupting this time, who cares if he watches.”

 

**You are _mine_ , Eddie. We will not let him watch us.**

 

“Venom, hey, Venom, you don’t need to get all possessive. He’s a cat. Just ignore him and bring that tongue back here, yeah?”

 

They let out a few noises of disgruntlement but eventual pick up where they left off.

 

Eddie is getting pretty into it this time, as large clawed hands reaching down and hiking up his shirt to stroke lovingly up his abs—

 

Only to have everything come to a screeching halt once again as a long _meow_ cuts through the air.

 

They both turn and look at the culprit, but Mr. Belvedere has an enviable poker face, giving off a pretty convincing look of innocence.

 

**Let’s go to bed.**

 

“Yeah, I second that motion.”

 

So saying, they compose themselves long enough to stumble off to the guest bedroom. They’re hardly past the threshold when Eddie is falling back on the plush covers, a hungry Symbiote manifesting over him and tugging his shirt off.

 

A moan just breaks past his lips as Venom nips and licks along the juncture of his collarbone and neck when a more insistent _meaaaaaaaoow_ cracks the air like a whip.

 

“ _Goddamnit_ , what _now?_ ”

 

Apparently, in their haste to reach the bed, neither of them had remembered to close the door.

 

If looks could kill, Mr. Belvedere would be a smoldering pile of ash with the force of Venom’s glare. It Eddie didn’t act fast, there was a very real possibility that Venom would be tempted to attack the stupid cockblocking cat.

 

Eddie lurched up and shooed the tiny bastard out of the room, taking extra care to firmly close door and even click the lock for good measure.

 

“There, no more interruptions. All good, babe?”

 

**Better.**

 

With that, they resume.

 

They get all the way to Eddie being stripped naked and Venom making their way slowly down his torso with their tongue, paying extra attention to dip and swirl lazy circles around the moaning human’s navel, when a scuffling of noise breaks through their combined sexual haze.

 

“What the _fuck?_ ” Eddie groans as he leverages himself back up and glares at the door.

 

He and Venom watch in silent disbelief as diminutive furry paws poke through the gap under the door. Upon feeling the carpet on the other side of the doorframe, the paws extend their claws and noisily drag along the carpet until they disappear back under, only to poke back in again. This process repeats with a consistency that promises no end in the near future.

 

“I don’t get it. What the fuck has gotten into him? He’s never done this in the time that I’ve known him. Hell, he didn’t do this the last couple of nights.” Eddie can only trail off into unsure silence.

 

Venom lets out a vicious snarl, causing Eddie to jump half out of his skin, before withdrawing back inside their host.

 

“Hey, Venom. Love. Are you alright? I know the current situation is frustrating, but you’ve been a little off the last couple days. Do you want to talk about it?”

 

**_The little shit has been trying to get between us the entire time we’ve been here._ **

 

“Oh come on, it’s not like that. I think Mr. Belvedere’s just feeling kind of lonely, what with Anne and Dan being away.”

 

**_No excuse. Stupid cat wants to cuddle with you, it will have to go through me._ **

 

At this point, Eddie lets out a long-suffering sigh before getting up and heading to the door.

 

**_What are you doing?_ **

 

He opens the door, careful not to catch any wandering paws, and gives Mr. Belvedere free rein of the guest bedroom.

 

Venom materializes up out of the back of his shoulder just so they can fix Eddie with a glare.

 

**Traitor.**

 

“Yeah well, I figured it would be hard to get any sleep with the dulcet tones of the carpet being ripped up all night long.”

 

Mr. Belvedere takes that moment to hop up onto the bed and stalk over to Eddie and Venom, purring all the way.

 

“See? He’s probably just feeling a little neglected. We haven’t really gone out of our way to show him much attention, other than during feeding times.”

 

**He never seemed to want attention. Always acting antisocial, or being a little shit.**

 

“Yeah, and the one time he really wanted some affection was when he caught a contact high from your catnip shower. I still wish I got a picture of that.”

 

**Eddie.**

 

“Right, I forgot, there’s a gag order on that particular event.”

 

Mr. Belvedere must have found what he was looking for because he strategically flops down on the bedding at such an angle that all he needs to do his extend his neck and bump his head softly against Eddie’s hand.

 

“Ah man, how can you hate that face, V?”

 

And Eddie can feel the Venom’s resistance slipping.

 

A curious tendril extends forward and carefully strokes along the feline’s head. Mr. Belvedere closes his eyes in contentment and extends his head upwards for further attention.

 

The mental equivalent of _aww_ melts over their synapses in a mutual emotional response, the origins of which are hard to pinpoint, but ultimately irrelevant.

 

**This is not unpleasant.**

 

“Aww, you big softy. I knew you’d come around.”

 

The three of them fall asleep like that, with Eddie tucked under the sheets with one arm flung out across the mattress, Venom comfortably stretched along said arm, dozing peacefully, and the cat pressed up against Eddie side in between them.

* * *

In the morning, Eddie packs up his bag and collect anything of this still scattered around the guestroom. They only need to fee Mr. Belvedere this one last time, and then they’re home free. Anne and Dan were set to be back that afternoon. Dan had sent a text to Eddie’s phone that morning with a picture of him and an older woman, which Eddie presumed was Dan’s mother, held up three good-sized Tupperware containers of the promised homemade fudge.

 

Venom was ecstatic.

 

Eddie turned his own phone camera back on Mr. Belvedere and Venom, both of whom were now much more comfortable in each other company, and tried to get a candid snapshot of the Symbiote petting the cat. Venom decided to humor their host and posed for the picture alongside their feline counterpart, even going so far as to extend two portions of their mass upwards on either side of their head in the imitation of pointed cat ears.

 

Eddie texted the picture over to Dan’s phone, only to receive a flurry of responses back. The lawyer-doctor couple went over the moon for it.

 

The time eventually came for Eddie and Venom to bid a temporary goodbye to the feline that he escorted them all the way to the front door.

 

Venom gave Mr. Belvedere one last chin rub before withdrawing (today assuming the form of a leather jacket).

 

**Still a little shit…but perhaps he cannot help it. He is a loser like us.**

 

“Spoken like a poet. Later champ”, he dipped down and gave the cat one last sweeping pet down the length of his back. Mr. Belvedere arched his spine to try and chase the contact for as long as it would last.

 

Determining that their business was done, the cat turned and walked away back into the house, never looking back.

 

They close and lock the door, hiding the key once again among the roots of the potted rhododendron before walking home.

 

**So, are we ever going to let Anne know that we found a rat in their house?**

 

“Hey, if you want to invoke her wrath, you’re welcome to. Don’t bring me into this.”

 

**Hmm. Guess it doesn’t matter. The little predator seems capable enough.**

 

“Yeah, that’s what we’ll just keep telling ourselves. Otherwise, mum’s the word.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this instead of doing my homework. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> As you all can probably tell, I took quite a few liberties with Venom's character in this one. Just want to acknowledge that so it doesn't seem like I'm dodging that fact. 
> 
> Also, I know it seems like I'm being unnecessarily mean spirited to cats in this fic, but I honestly hold no ill will against them. (You know, just in case my partner reads this fic and decides to burn me at the stake for slandering cats.)
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed and as always, if you liked the fic, please feel free to let me know. Any and all comments, critiques, or kudos are greatly appreciated!


End file.
